My home theater is located in our Family Room. In 1997, we underwent
extensive renovations to our home, converting it from a Cape to a Colonial style house. Our family room is 24 feet by 25 feet and has a 13 foot ceiling. The
family room is the center point of all of our family functions. When we built
the Family room, I had not originally planned to install a projector, but
initially purchased a 60 inch rear projection Mitsubishi television. Over the
years that followed, we had wanted to install a fireplace, but the size of the
Mitsubishi prevented us from doing so. After doing a lot of research, and using
information provided on Projector Central, the NEC LT260 became the projector of
choice – for image quality, lumen output and price. A projector with 1000 lumen
output would not perform well in our Family Room because the room is never
completely dark because of activities in other parts of the house – especially
in the kitchen area that overlooks the Family Room. I viewed several LCD type
projectors, but was not really satisfied with the image, so I decided to give
the DLP Technology a try.

The screen, projector and receiver were purchased in February/March 2003.

The total cost of the Main Equipment (projector, screen, receiver, speakers,
cables and DVD player) is $5515.00. My equipment is pretty down to earth –
nothing fancy or extravagant. It offers the biggest bang for the buck from the
standpoint of sound and image quality. Adding the other equipment brings the
total of my set-up to $7055.00. A Boss 8-channel Stereo Mixer is on top of the
DVD Player. The mixer is used for Karaoke.

INSTALLATION

This was a self-install. The Projector was mounted 18 feet from the screen.
The Ceiling Fan presented an obstacle by not allowing the projector to be
mounted parallel to the floor. Even though I shortened the pole holding the fan,
the projector had to be tilted up slightly and the screen lowered to prevent the
fan from obstructing the projected image. I used the projector's Keystone
correction feature to square up the image. I needed 50 feet of S-Video Cable and
Component Video Cable. I use the S-Video for watching Cable TV, Home Movies and
Karaoke. The Component Video is used exclusively for watching DVDs. The Pioneer
Receiver allows switching of two Component Video Sources. When our local cable
company switches to High Definition service, I'll use the second Component Video
input for the Cable Box. The main speakers are floor standing and the Center
Channel speaker lies horizontally. I mounted the rear speakers at the upper
corners of the room.

Side view showing Windows

The Family Room has a wall of windows on the Westerly side of the house that
captures the setting sun. I installed room-darkening shades behind the blinds
that we lower when we watch shows in the late afternoon / early evening.

Rear of Family Room

OPERATION

The Progressive scanning feature of the DVD player combined with the HD
operation of the projector presents a truly awesome 120inch diagonal image. The
pictures shown here in no way do the actual image justice! I have seen no
rainbow artifacts, which seem to be characteristic of DLP projectors that have
color wheels that operate at a 2X rate. I run the projector in Economy Mode. The
viewing area is approximately 15 feet from the screen. The overlook area off the
kitchen starts at 18 feet from the screen. It's nice to sit at the dining table,
eat and watch movies and television programs. I like the fact that the Screen is
out of the way and almost invisible when we are not watching television.

Out of sight

The NEC LT260 has performed well, even though the first lamp lasted only 60
hours. NEC replaced the lamp at no charge. One glitch that sometimes is
frustrating is the projector does not always turn on when commanded. It takes
two or three turn on attempts before it finally kicks in. NEC has no explanation
for this.

Mike's New Car – 120" Diagonal

FUTURE

Now that the fireplace is installed and operational, there is no place for
the Center Channel Speaker. My wife will not allow it to be "displayed" on the
Fireplace mantle. So – I am considering replacing the center speaker with an
in-wall speaker system. The walls in the Family Room were framed from 2x6 inch
lumber, so I'll have plenty of room for the speakers and insulation. If I end up
doing that, I'll have to invest in a Sub-woofer – something that I have not
needed up till now. Hmmmm… If only NEC can upgrade the LT260 to a LT260K!